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30 May 2011

Books You Need if You Have These Genes

Possibly some of the family members will find this of interest. If I could afford to buy hundreds of copies for the relatives, I would, but I can’t. Blogger is playing its frustrating silly buggers game again with uploading images, so if they don't appear as instructed you won't even be reading this!

Never mind, it's all there inside. With the help of new friends, good researchers, many relatives—who speak and read languages I don't know—and the amazing digitization of Latvian and Estonian historical records, we have reached back about 300 years. The Baltic genes are survivors. I say Baltic, because the Livonian origins of the Jurikas family reach back into the mediaeval mists of what is modern Estonia.

"Family memories, overseas researchers, and modern technology enabled a genealogical glimpse into life under Russian Imperial, then Soviet, rule. This book is a tribute to hardship scarcely imaginable from our Canadian distance of place and time. It is also a celebration of nine generations from serfdom to freedom."

The compiler’s shortcomings notwithstanding, this type of production has been a satisfying process, all things considered. It is not an e-book; it’s a soft-cover paper copy in living colour. UniBook does a wonderful job reproducing photographs.

Family histories that reach the print stage always draw more information. More news is already coming from Riga. That's why I have a BLOG! Without a doubt, to be continued ... If you have questions, you know where to reach me, my full name @gmail.com.

Also available from UniBook:

Ancestors and Descendants of John DOUGALL and Marion HASTIE from Midlothian, Scotland to Argenteuil County, Quebec. (January 2011). 59 pp., illustrated. $18.98.

Ancestors and Descendants of Donald McFadyen and Flory McLean from Isle of Coll, Scotland to River Denys, Nova Scotia. (December 2010). 73 pp., illustrated. $21.05. (Family chart available from compiler)

This is the one on which said compiler neglected to add a brilliantly chosen cover photo. My bad. Live and learn, I always say. Luckily I learn something new every day. Whether it's good for me or not.

So, Blogger people. I keep bumping my head on some invisible ceiling where the learning curves go off my personal graph. This post took about two hours of torture to assemble, not even trusting that the images currently displayed will whimsically disappear as they have from prior posts. I'm tired of looking at Blogger Help and pursuing all that, helpful as some users are. Maybe it's time to change platforms or whatever they're called. My FB colleagues will surely have wisdom and comfort for me.